Esther Oritse
Lagos — In a renewed effort to tackle congestion at the nation’s seaports, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has deployed an automated system for the clearance of overtime cargoes. The initiative is expected to accelerate the evacuation of long-stalled consignments and create more room for fresh imports.
Speaking at a sensitisation forum in Lagos on the new system, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr. Adewale Adeniyi, explained that the automation would eliminate delays associated with manual processes while enhancing efficiency and transparency in port operations.
Adeniyi noted that overtime cargoes not only contribute to port congestion but also occupy valuable space meant for new shipments, creating a ripple effect of delays across the logistics and clearance chain.
He explained that once cargoes remain uncleared beyond the initial 30 days, they are automatically transferred to the office of the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs for approval adding that after 3 months and the cargo remains uncleared, it will automatically move to the Headquarters for condemnation.
After 120 days, any uncleared cargo will be transferred to the disposal stage, following the completion of the required legal process.
The Customs boss emphasized that the digitalization of overtime cargo clearance is not primarily aimed at generating revenue, but at establishing a more efficient system for handling such consignments while freeing up space within the ports.
Regarding valuation at the point of disposal, the Customs Service explained that depreciation and the condition of the goods would be factored in before assigning a final value to the consignments.
Adeniyi disclosed that he has been inundated with messages on the issue of overtime cargoes adding that the automation of the system will further deal with questions and inquiry on this category of cargoes
He said: More than 50% of letters, emails, complaints that I receive, and I deal with on a daily basis have to do with over time. And they come in different forms. And sometimes we manage to sort out this within our internal processes.
“But the bad news is that some of them get escalated. Some to ICPC, some to EFCC, and beyond.
“But then, as long as we have a transparent system, we will be ready to handle and face all situations. Let me start you with a particular case.
“I think the ICT was talking about the fact that some containers have been here for eight years. There is currently a case that emanated. Almost 15 years ago.
“And somebody is trying to keep Mr. President, Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic, busy and occupied with such a case. This particular case has gone to everywhere you can think of. Usman, I’m sure you remember this case.
“So, what this means is that all of these challenges that endeavors the process of management of overtime cargo are real. And they have to be confronted. The problem of putting integrity in the system.
“The problems of bringing out a transparent system. The problem of integrity, so that we can deal with this with less corruption. But most importantly, the issue of staying on the right side of the law.
“And this is why, when I assumed office, I was very bold and intentional in stating that I would be open to consultations with our stakeholder. I really appreciate the point that
Mr. Keshiro stated about the fact that when you talk about overtime cargo, it has to be done in conjunction and consultation with all of you. So, I’m open to consultations.
“But more importantly, I’m also open to innovation. Because I believe that we can use a new process, like we have just seen, to address the management of overtime cargo. Imports are very important for our economy.
“They are helpful for production. When our manufacturers get into their factories, they need a lot of inputs from manufacturing. They are necessary for management of very critical projects.
“If we have the chance, we would rather get all of this out of the ports. Because of those three reasons that I have stated. And everything that we try to do to make sure that we have our process facilitated.
“So that the cost and the time it takes us to bring these cargoes out of the ports will be reduced. One of the things that I have done was to set up specialized desks at headquarters and in different commands to manage imports done by government and government agencies. We don’t want those imports to stay one day longer in our ports.
“Projects that address issues of power infrastructure, road infrastructure, public health, education. All of those projects are very vital in delivering the dividends of democracy to Nigerians. And we would not want them to be abandoned in the port, to stay a day longer in our ports.
“And irrespective of their status, the directive I always give to all our controllers is that we must waive all processes and procedures and ensure that those consignments are taken out of our ports. The same goes for consignments imported by members of the organized private sector and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and other organizations. We know that through these imports reflect our economy and we don’t want them to be delayed in our ports.
“We also give reference to our embassies and consignments that are imported by international organizations, missions and diplomatic agencies. So we also have a special desk that has been created for them. So I need to state here for Nigerians, I need to reiterate and reemphasize the fact that revenue is not the aim, is not the objective of what we are doing.
We have the objective of injecting transparency, of reducing corruption, of making the system more efficient. The objective that we do not have in mind in putting the system is revenue.
In 2024, our revenue profile rose to 6.3 trillion Naira, less than 1% of that came from overtime cargoes.
“So our objective is not about making revenue. Our objectives for deploying these systems include to facilitate trade, to get imported goods to their owners, and more important, we want to manage space so that other imports that are coming can have space in our ports and then they can be cleared in a very swift manner. So this system will be deployed and we will appreciate the feedback that we are going to be getting from our stakeholders.
“I’m so very happy and glad that we are beginning to receive some feedback already from the question and answer series. We would be open to more feedback from you because we know that there are so many stakeholders, there are so many interests that are involved. On one hand, we have the interest of the owners of these goods.
“We still want them to have access to these up to the time permitted by the law. On the other hand, we also know that there are a lot of custodians of those goods who are certainly entitled to certain things. So the whole objective would be for us to try the right balance as we move forward.
“The very good questions have been asked about creating opportunity for more sensitization. The question I talked about the fact that some people assimilate very, very slowly. For the interest of those slow, medium, and high assimilators, we will still go beyond this.
“It is a very small hall and this might not be adequate. So I would direct the Zonal Coordinator to organize more of these platforms starting from during this week. Specifically, we will be targeting terminal operators and shipping companies first alone.
“We will have to organize this Zonal Coordinator to get in touch and determine how soon we can have that terminal operators and shipping companies. We will also do the same thing in all the commands. We started it up there.
“So after terminal operators and shipping companies, the Zonal Coordinator should organize one with different commands. You can match the commands if you want for time. And then the customs agents.
“We will be making progress. We will be making progress. Just to be sure that we stay on the right, on the same page all the time.
“As I conclude, let me talk about the fact that we are also not unaware of the fact that some people may want to deliberately delay their goods inside the port. Before I came here, I was here twice, early last month and the month before. And we were confronting the issue of the system, the B’odogu system.
“There were a number of complaints. And with all of those complaints on board, I summoned the principal actors in Abuja. We came up with a number of measures, recommendations, which hopefully has addressed some of the issues that were raised.
“We will not continue to monitor the progress, the situation, and ensure that we get our hands on them all the time. Part of the suggestions that was made was for us to allow additional days before we rule out these goods into overtime. And I consulted with the ACG headquarters.
“We will discuss this in consultation with the legal advisor. And we will see what we can come
out with in terms of allowing some additional days’ concession to address those things. To address those things that we have lost during the system glitches that we had.
“But the system that we have put in place sounds good to me. And in life, even if it is risky, we must not be afraid of taking risks. But because this technology looks simple enough, but we now have to put it in practice, monitor the efficiency.
“And as we do that, we are very wary of two groups of people. The first, the self-styled experts who have been in the business for quite some time, and who will come and pick holes in whatever innovation that we try to put in place. Our answer to them will just be for us to ensure that the system works.
“Once the system works, we would have given them an effective answer. They talked about Bodogwu. They took Bonobo to the cleaners.
“And some of the issues that they have raised, we have used them to strengthen the B’odogwu system. And I’m happy that they can no longer talk about those problems. The second group of people, we know them, are criminals, who will want to exploit this system to their advantage.
“We will also look out for them. The system has been configured in such a way to shut out those who do not have legitimate claims to the consignment. But all the same, we will be on the lookout.
“We will get our intelligence units to take a close look at this. And because we want progress from this, we will not allow those criminal elements to hijack the process and create an obstacle to the progress that we all sincerely desire.
